ain took up the life of a vagrant and
a toper. In Odessa he found occupation in the harbour and the
salt-works. Then he wandered through Besserabia, the Crimea, the
Kuban, and eventually reached the Caucasus. At Tiflis he worked in the
railway sheds. Here he once more foregathered with educated people,
particularly with some young Armenians. His personality and already
remarkable mental equipment secured him their friendship. A derelict
student, whom he afterwards described under the name of Alexander
Kaluschny, taught him to write and cypher. He gave keen attention to
the physical states of an insane friend, who was full of the
Regeneration of Mankind, and entered his observations in his note-book.
Gorki possesses a vast number of these note-books, in which he has
written down his impressions. At this period he was also studying the
great poets, Shakespeare, Goethe, Byron. Most of all he admired
Manfred, who dominated the Elements and Ahriman. Everything out of the
common inspired him.

[Illustration: Tramps--the seated figure is the original of Luka
(_After a sketch by Gorki_)]

It was at this time that he began to do literary work, in the
utmost secrecy. His story, "Makar Chudra," appeared in 1893 in
the Caucasian journal _Kavkas_, but he was as yet unable to make
his living by intellectual pursuits, and was still compelled to be
Jack-of-all-trades. It occurred to him to muster a travelling company.
He strapped up a small bundle and sallied forth. By April he had
enlisted others of like mind. A woman and five men presented
themselves. The troup increased on the way . . . but Gorki had to dree
his weird alone, and returned to Nijni Novgorod.

A fortunate accident brought him into relation with the lawyer Lanin, a
true friend to modern literature, who was not slow to appreciate the
talent that had found its way to his bureau, and occupied himself most
generously with the education of the young writer.

Gorki now wrote his first long story. Various friends of literature
soon began to take notice of him. They sent him to the famous Vladimir
Korolenko, who was then living in Nijni Novgorod, and editing the
paper, _Russkoe Bogatstvo_. Korolenko was much interested in Gorki,
but was unable at that time to offer the young writer any remunerative
work. Gorki was obliged to eke out his living by contributing to small
provincial papers. He shared the same fate as so many of his fellow
journalists. None